CHRISTIANITY  IN  PRACTICE 

A SERIES  OF  SKETCHES  DESCRIBING 
INSTITUTIONS  AND  TYPES  OF  SERVICE 
ON  BAPTIST  MISSION  FIELDS  ABROAD 

Fublished  as  occasion  may  requite 


Number  One  JAVAN 


A Day  in  the  Tokyo  Tabernacle 

By  William  Axling 


AMERICAN  BAPTIST  FOREIGN  MISSION  SOCIETY 

Ford  Building  Ashburton  Place  Boston,  Mass. 


FACTS  ABOUT  THE  JAPAN  MISSION 


Missionaries 57 

Japanese  Workers ' 233 

Stations  10 

Organized  Churches 33 

Church  Members 3670 

Sunday  Schools  202 

Sunday  School  Pupils 14,046 

Theological  Seminaries  and  Training  Schools  3 

Students 65 

Colleges ■ ■ • 1 

Students 16 

High  Schools 5 

Students 464 

Secondary  Schools  4 

Pupils  . . . ; 658 

Primary  Schools  17 

Pupils 1008 

Appropriations  3137,614.21 


A DAY  IN  THE  TOKYO  TABERNACLE 

By  WILLIAM  AXLING 


OKYO  is  the  metropolis  of  the  Orient.  Two 
and  a half  million  people  are  crowded  within 
its  borders.  Right  at  the  heart  of  this  throb- 
bing mass  of  humanity  the  Tabernacle  rears 
its  substantial  cathedral-like  front. 

OUR  LOCATION. 

The  location  of  the  Tokyo  Misaki  Tabernacle  is  strik- 
ingly strategical.  On  one  side  the  business  section  presses 
right  up  against  its  doors.  On  the  other  hand  lies  the 
extensive  Government  Arsenal  with  its  ten  thousand 
employees.  On  still  another  side  there  stretches  for  miles 
a solid  impact  of  homes  and  shops. 

Moreover  in  the  one  ward  that  encircles  the  Tabernacle 
there  is  a student  population  of  40,000  in  educational 
institutions  and  boarding  houses.  Within  a radius  of  six 
blocks  are  located  more  than  thirty  institutions  for  higher 
education  and  scores  of  others  of  secondary  grade.  One 
of  these  higher  institutions  alone  enrolls  6,000  students. 
The  remainder  each  enroll  from  700  to  2,000.  Tokyo  is 
the  Mecca  for  the  students  of  all  Japan  and  Kanda  ward 
is  their  rallying  center. 

OUR  MISSION. 

We  conceive  our  mission  to  be  that  of  incarnating  the 
spirit  of  Christ  in  an  institution,  and  through  its  work  and 
workers  make  the  living,  saving,  and  serving  Christ  real 
and  visual  to  the  people.  Evangelizing,  educating,  serving 
are  the  three  words  that  loom  large  in  our  program  of 
work.  We  aim  to  minister  to  the  whole  man  and  to  serve 

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the  whole  community.  In  our  activity  we  recognize  the 
individual  as  the  unit,  but  we  make  the  serving  and 
Christianization  of  the  community  our  great  goal. 

OUR  IDEAL. 

The  Tabernacle  aims  to  become  a community  center. 
We  are  endeavoring  to  plant  ourselves  deep  down  into  the 
life  of  the  little  world  that  surrounds  us.  We  strive  to 
make  its  problems  our  problems.  We  yearn  to  become  the 
rallying  center  for  the  life  of  our  environment,  a help,  a 
haven,  a home,  an  inspiration,  an  incentive  to  a higher 
and  larger  life  to  all  the  members  of  our  community. 

We  have  no  bolted  doors  and  no  blinded  windows.  We 
are  tackling  our  task  from  seven  o’clock  in  the  morning 
until  ten  at  night,  seven  days  in  the  week,  fifty-two  weeks 
in  the  year.  Something  is  doing  all  the  time,  and  in  the 
evening  half  a dozen  things  on  at  the  same  time  is  the  rule 
rather  than  the  exception. 

Something  for  every  one  is  our  motto.  Something  that 
will  interest  all  ages.  Some  activity  that  will  appeal  to 
and  help  and  influence  every  class  and  every  group  of  our 
community.  This  accounts  for  the  great  variety  of  the 
lines  of  work  in  which  we  are  engaged. 

But  everywhere  and  all  the  time  we  strike  the  evangelis-. 
tic  note,  Christ  is  humanity’s  greatest  need  and  the  Gospel 
is  the  World’s  greatest  message.  Evangelism  runs  like  a 
golden  cord  through  our  whole  program  and  gives  direc- 
tion and  definiteness  of  purpose  to  all  our  activity.  All 
our  work  is  shot  through  with  the  Gospel  message.  We 
are  not  satisfied  to  simply  “fill  up  the  small  gaps  of  a 
thousand  minor  needs.”  We  dare  not  be  neglectful  of 
these  needs.  But  infinitely  more  “we  are  here  to  fill  up 
one  appalling  emptiness  with  the  glorious  presence  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.”  In  every  school,  in  every  class,  in 
every  gathering  of  whatever  nature  definite  provision  is 
made  for  making  the  Gospel  appeal. 

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OUR  PROGRAM 
Evangelistic: 

Sunday  Services 
Week  Night  Evangelism 
Bible  Classes 
Sunday  School  Work 
Women’s  Society 
Young  Men’s  Society 

Educational ; 

Night  School  for  Young  Men 
Night  School  for  Young  Women 
Afternoon  School  for  Young  Women 
Kingergarten 
Saturday  Public  Lectures 

Social  Service: 

Men’s  Friendly  Society 
Nurse’s  Neighborhood  Visiting 
Apprentices’  Night  School 
Working  Girls’  Night  School 
Nursery  for  Children  of  Working  Mothers 
Neighborhood  Children’s  Play  Ground 
Free  Legal  Advice  Bureau 
Workingmen’s  Welfare  Work 

A MORNING  AT  THE  TABERNACLE. 

Tokyo-ites  are  early  risers  and  we  try  to  keep  pace  with 
our  neighbors.  Thus  work  begins  early.  At  7:30  the 
children’s  care-taker  is.  on  hand  ready  to  greet  the  mothers 
as  they  bring  the  little  tots  who  are  cared  for  in  the  Day 
Nursery.  Here  from  7:30  in  the  morning  until  6:00  at 
night  are  mothered  the  little  children  of  working  mothers. 
Were  it  not  for  the  Day  Nursery  these  mothers  would  in 
many  cases  have  to  entrust  these  little  ones  to  a child  only 
a few  years  older  — and  worry  all  day  about  both  of  them 

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— or  else  carry  them  on  their  backs  while  they  work. 
What  joy  and  relief  is  pictured  on  their  faces  as  they  leave 
them  in  this  haven  for  tot-hood ! Hard  work  awaits  them 
but  there  is  no  worry  about  the  wee  one. 

The  forty  children  enrolled  in  the  Day  Nursery  put  us 
in  most  intimate  touch  with  homes  that  need  our  sympathy 
and  constructive  help.  Bible  classes  and  special  meetings 
are  held  for  the  parents  of  these  childr'en  and  effort  is  made 
to  infuse  some  color  into  their  dull  and  humdrum  lives. 

At  8:30  the  children  of  the  Kindergarten  begin  to  gather 
and  by  9:00  the  corridors  resound  with  the  merry  shouts 
of  eighty  happy  husky  Japanese  children  — than  whom 
there  are  no  more  attractive  children  in  all  the  wide  world. 
Then  begins  the  Kindergarten  program  for  the  day,  a 
simple  prayer,  songs,  games,  hand-work  and  many  things 
that  are  interesting  and  instructive  to  the  child  mind  and 
heart. 

Through  the  children  in  the  Kindergarten  we  are  thrown 
into  direct  contact  with  multitudes  of  the  homes  of  our 
community.  The  teachers  visit  in  these  homes.  Monthly 
meetings  are  held  for  the  mothers.  Everything  is  done  to 
improve  the  advantage  gained  through  this  contact  with 
the  home-life  of  our  neighborhood. 

AN  AFTERNOON  AT  THE  TABERNACLE. 

At  2:00  o’clock  the  halls  again  re-echo  with  the  tramp 
of  many  feet  and  much  child-chatter.  The  children  of  the 
Kindergarten  are  getting  their  wooden  clogs  and  lunch 
baskets  and  are  starting  for  home.  Then  there  is  a lull, 
but  only  for  an  hour. 

At  3 :00  the  Children’s  Play  Ground  is  thrown  open  and 
the  children  from  the  neighborhood  come  hurrying  in. 
There  is  no  park,  no  play  ground,  and  no  yard  space  to 
the  homes  of  this  congested  district  and  the  utilizing  of 
our  Roof  Garden  and  our  Kindergarten  play  ground  for  a 
Recreation  Center  is  a great  boon  to  the  child  life  around 


US.  Here  there  Is  whole-hearted  play  under  the  direction 
of  the  children’s  secretary  and  a period  of  quiet  listening 
to  some  Bible  story  or  a helpful  talk. 

At  3:30  the  Afternoon  School  for  Young  Women  opens 
and  young  women  are  In  evidence.  Many  of  these  are 
students  from  other  schools.  Some  are  teachers.  Others 
are  married  women.  All  are  eager  to  learn  English  which 
is  the  one  thing  taught  in  this  afternoon  school.  A twenty 
minute  chapel  service  each  day  brings  home  to  their 
hearts  the  claims  of  Christ  upon  their  lives. 

AN  EVENING  AT  THE  TABERNACLE. 

To  really  appreciate  the  hum  of  activity  of  an  evening 
at  the  Tabernacle  demands  one’s  personal  attendance.  At 
5 :30  the  young  women  begin  to  gather  for  the  Night  School 
for  Young  Women.  These  are  mostly  from  that  growing 
class  of  girls  who  have  been  forced  out  of  the  sheltered 
life  of  the  women  of  old  Japan  and  thrust  forth  into 
the  soul-less  competitive  life  of  modern  commercialism. 
In  shops  and  offices  they  are  beset  by  more  tempta- 
tions and  dangers  than  any  other  class  of  women  in  the 
life  of  present  day  Japan.  The  main  purpose  of  this 
school  is  to  establish  points  of  contact  with  them,  befriend 
them,  and  gird  them  for  the  moral  battles  that  confront 
them  in  their  daily  environment.  Last  year  118  girls  were 
enrolled  in  these  two  girls’  schools. 

At  6:00  the  halls  are  crowded 'with  young  men  who  are 
coming  for  the  Night  School  for  Young  Men.  This  is  an 
English  school  for  students  and  for  the  young  men  from 
business  offices.  Most  of  them  could  not  be  gotten  into 
an  evangelistic  service  but  they  are  keen  after  English, 
and  while  we  teach  them  we  preach  to  them  through  the 
special  chapel  service  that  is  held  for  them  every  evening. 
Some  of  our  finest  converts  come  from  this  school.  The 
past  year  293  young  men  were  enrolled  in  this  school. 

5 


At  7:00  bedlam  breaks  loose  for  a few  moments.  The 
lads  from  the  surrounding  work-shops  and  homes  come 
rushing  in  for  the  Apprentices’  Night  School.  In  Japan 
the  lot  of  the  average  apprentice  is  far  from  enviable.  He 
is  apprenticed  at  the  age  of  twelve  or  younger.  Then  for 
the  next  seven  or  eight  years  the  master’s  greatest  concern 
is  to  get  as  much  service  out  of  him  as  possible.  His  only 
remuneration  is  his  food  and  clothing,  and  that  often  of 
the  cheapest  kind.  Opportunities  for  recreation,  and  for 
intellectual  and  spiritual  improvement  there  are  none. 
For  these  lads  this  night  school  is  a boon.  Their  earnest- 
ness and  zeal  is  a constant  inspiration. 

At  7:00  the  Working  Girls’  Night  School  also  begins  its 
work.  Here  working  girls  from  nearby  homes  and  work- 
shops are  given  instruction  in  the  elementary  branches,  in 
simple  methods  of  caring  for  the  sick,  in  sewing  and  in 
kindred  hand-work. 

In  each  of  the  above  four  night  schools  a regular  period 
is  set  aside,  each  evening  that  they  are  in  session,  for 
religious  instruction.  Because  of  the  difference  of  sex 
and  the  difference  of  mentality  each  school  has  to  have  its 
own  chapel  service.  Here  they  are  brought  face  to  face 
with  Christ  and  the  claims  of  the  higher  life. 

At  7:30  the  General  Evangelistic  Meeting  begins  in  the 
evangelistic  hall  just  off  the  street  and  passers-by  are 
urged  to  come  in  and  listen  to  the  story  of  stories.  The 
attendance  varies  greatly.  Yet  here  we  get  those  who  are 
really  anxious  to  know  life’s  best  way.  This  meeting  is 
often  followed  by  personal  talks  with  those  who  are 
especially  interested.  And  often  these  talks  close  with 
prayer  and  the  surrender  of  the  life  to  Christ.  Oh!  the 
unspeakable  joy  of  leading  a human  soul  into  the  mystery 
of  a new  birth  and  a new  life! 

Three  nights  in  the  week,  after  the  men’s  night  school 
classes,  special  Bible  Classes  and  a class  in  Gospel  Singing 
are  held  for  the  benefit  of  the  students  of  this  night  school. 

6 


In  addition  to  this  Adult  Bible  Classes  are  organized  for 
both  men  and  women  and  every  effort  is  made  to  get  as 
large  a number  as  possible  of  those  who  are  connected 
with  the  different  lines  of  work,  into  these  classes  for  the 
direct  study  of  the  Bible.  The  response'  is  very  gratifying. 

Often  there  is  a special  meeting  in  the  auditorium  or  a 
committee  meeting  or  prayer  meeting  in  the  committee 
room.  Thus  activities  are  on  in  most  of  the  thirty  rooms 
that  make  up  the  three  stories  of  the  building.  Direct 
personal  influence  is  being  exerted.  The  truth  is  pro- 
claimed. Lives  are  being  cast  into  the  Christ-mould. 

OTHER  SPECIAL  FEATURES. 

The  workingmen’s  lot  is  particularly  hard.  His  working 
hours  are  long  — from  ten  to  fifteen  hours  a day.  He  has 
no  Sundays  and  holidays  are  few.  Ko  one  takes  any 
special  interest  in  him  and  nothing  is  done  to  relieve  the 
hard  grind  of  his  life.  Taking  advantage  of  the  fact  that 
the  15th  of  each  month  is  the  workingmen’s  holiday  we  on 
that  day  hold  a Special  Workingmen’s  Meeting.  In  this 
meeting  there  is  an  earnest  heart-talk,  full  of  Gospel  hope 
and  good  cheer.  This  is  followed  by  special  music,  or  an  in- 
structive moving  picture  exhibition,  or  a clean  story  told  by 
some  one  gifted  in  that  line.  We  strive  to  minister  to  their 
spiritual  needs,  to  break  the  dull  monotony  of  their  humdrum 
life  and  to  infuse  some  cheer  into  their  empty  existence. 

The  Men’s  Friendly  Society  is  an  organization  that 
endeavors  to  befriend  the  friendless  man  who  is  lost  to 
sympathy  and  heart-friendship  in  the  rushing  hurrying 
life  of  this  great  city.  To  him  the  only  place  where  there  is 
brightness  and  cheer  and  action  is  the  place  of  sin.  By  the 
scores  young  men  are  driven  to  sin  and  vice  by  grinding 
monotony  and  loneliness  of  their  narrow  isolated  lives. 
These  we  try  to  befriend.  They  are  encouraged  to  use  the 
Reading  Room,  Game  Room,  Roof  Garden,  and  to  make 
the  Tabernacle  their  retreat.  Special  meetings  are  held 

7 


for  them.  Special  occasions  are  provided  for  them  in  our 
home.  Above  all  we  strive  to  lead  them  to  know  the 
Friend  of  friends. 

On  Saturday  evenings  Public  Popular  Lectures  are  held. 
This  is  our  forum.  Here  are  discussed  by  Christian  men 
the  great  vital  problems  of  life.  We  try  to  show  to  the 
world  that  the  church  is  not  another  worldly,  dreamy 
organization  that  concerns  itself  only  with  super-mundane 
affairs,  but  that  it  is  wide-awake  and  intensely  interested 
in  every  question  that  concerns  the  welfare  of  mankind. 
Such  questions  as  social  purity,  sex-hygiene,  homemaking, 
temperance,  sanitation,  tuberculosis  and  kindred  themes 
that  make  for  a cleaner  and  higher  community  and 
national  life  are  here  dealt  with  from  the  Christian  point 
of  view. 

Nurse’s  Neighborhood  Visiting  is  carried  on  by  a 
graduate  nurse  and  mid-wife.  She  visits  the  homes  of  the 
poor,  hunts  up  the  sick  of  our  neighborhood  and  is  an 
angel  of  mercy  to  many.  Through  working  arrangements 
with  physicians  and  hospitals  she  assists  in  providing 
medical  help  and  hospital  care  where  needed.  To  her  the 
mothers  bring  their  problems.  Often  the  workless  are 
helped  to  find  work.  She  herself  is  the  community’s 
burden-bearer  and  she  points  burdened  hearts  to  the 
Great  Burden-Bearer. 

A Free  Legal  Advice  Bureau  provides  help  for  the  poor 
who  have  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  merciless  money- 
lender or  the  quack  lawyer  or  into  some  legal  difficulty. 

THE  CENTRAL  BAPTIST  CHURCH. 

The  Central  Baptist  Church  is  a self-governing,  self- 
supporting  Japanese  church  that  makes  the  Tabernacle 
auditorium  its  church  home.  The  Sunday  services,  the 
Sunday  School,  the  Women’s  Society  and  Young  Men’s 
Society  are  entirely  under  its  care  and  through  these  it 
carries  on  an  aggressive  and  far-reaching  work.  Its  pastor, 

8 


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For  additional  literature 
or  other  information  re- 
garding the  -work  of  the 
American  Baptist  Foreign 
Mission  Society,  write  to  any 
of  the  following : 

1.  The  District  Secretary  of  your 
(iistrict. 

2.  Department  of  Missionary  Educa- 
tion, 23  East  26th  Street.  New 
York  City. 

3.  Literature  Department.  Box  41, 
Boston.  Mass. 


